Utopianism in the Work of Zygmunt Bauman - Sociologi - Aalborg ...

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The Universal Quest for Utopia A central defining characteristic of dominant parts of the discipline of sociology has for decades been its defence of objectivity, disinterestedness, value- neutrality and realism. Despite this, the assumption that things can in fact be different from what they currently are appears to be a key in the understanding and appreciation of the work of Zygmunt Bauman. One of the most widely read contemporary social thinkers and theorists, Polish-born and British-based Bauman has provided sociology with a new arsenal of concepts and analyses available for social critics dealing especially with the postmodern condition or what he more recently prefers to refer to as ‘liquid modernity’ (Bauman 2000a). Moreover, he has provided one of the most comprehensive critiques of the pro- ject of modernity, especially when it was taken to extremes in utopian experi- ments and projects such as the Nazi Holocaust or the Stalinist gulags. There- fore, in his most recent book he states that “the urge to transcend is the most stubbornly present, nearest to universal, and arguably the least destructible attribute of human existence. This cannot be said, however, of its articulation into ‘projects’” (Bauman 2002a:222-223). In spite of his criticism aimed against these utopian attempts of modernist planning and social engineering, his own writings also contain clear undercurrents of utopian inspired thinking. This utopian tread, as it were, has been present ever since the early writings and can still be found in the latest books perhaps even more explicitly than earlier (Jacobsen 2003a, 2000d). Thus, his work is characterised by ambivalence towards utopias as towards so many other social phenomena such as freedom, modernity, postmodernity, community, work, etc. Utopianism has often been posed as an attempt at escaping the real and concrete conditions unfavourable to individual or collective visions of the ideal or the good society. This also holds true in Bauman’s case where the iron-cages 6
of modernity and postmodernity have been attacked for their focus on coercion, heteronomy and conformity as opposed to freedom, autonomy and ambivalence. He is concerned with showing, instead, that nothing in the social and cul- tural realm, despite being presented as such, is natural, inevitable or subjected to a logic of necessity (Tester 2002b). As Keith Tester, one of the finest inter- preters of the work of Bauman suggested: “Within his sociology, Bauman tries to show that the world does not have to be the way it is and that there is an alternative to what presently seems to be so natural, so obvious, so inevitable” (Tester in Bauman & Tester 2001:9). That is the mark of distinction of Bauman’s sociology whether concerned with scientific dogmas from realism constraining humanity in envisaging alternative modes of action (cf. Bauman 1976b) or in dealing with social arrangements obstructing the realisation or ac- tualisation of such modes. Whether one wishes to term this ‘utopianism’ or not is naturally a matter of choice of vocabulary but in my mind there is no doubt that his ideas constitute a vintage example of utopianism when applied to social thought. 1 Being utopian or espousing utopian ideas does not necessarily mean that one is world-weary or lives in an illusion although this has often been the accu- sation raised against those scholars or academics attempting to present alternative visions of the social or moral order. Thus, almost half a century ago, the American political scientist and economist, Andrew Hacker, noted on the repu- tation of utopians within social theory: It is no secret that the Utopian is not a respectable member of the company of political and social theorists. Of course, it must be acknowledged that his breed never was numerous […] There have, of course, been Utopian murmurings in a variety of writings ranging from Marxists to current-day followers of Adam Smith […] But all have been roundly attacked: attacked on the seemingly self-sufficient 7
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Page 5: List of Content The Universal Quest
Page 9 and 10: stood for ‘all situationally tran
Page 11 and 12: However, also a third option is app
Page 13 and 14: where duties and obligations go han
Page 15 and 16: into iron-cages of totalitarianism
Page 17 and 18: These principles stay with me all t
Page 19 and 20: stays beyond human reach as a state
Page 21 and 22: incontrovertible truth but instead
Page 23 and 24: nity much to their own misfortune a
Page 25 and 26: out of the desire to control, corre
Page 27 and 28: tised. Utopias have, however, not b
Page 29 and 30: nor solely dystopian, although many
Page 31 and 32: This is also part and parcel of Bau
Page 33 and 34: on his notions of what utopia means
Page 35 and 36: style nightmares” (Bauman 2000a:1
Page 37 and 38: suffering and daily degradation. Wi
Page 39 and 40: Especially in what could be termed
Page 41 and 42: clusive and potentially universal c
Page 43 and 44: we should instead optimistically be
Page 45 and 46: A voice of utopian hope resonates i
Page 47 and 48: teristic of their times and their e
Page 49 and 50: Bauman, Zygmunt (1990b): “From Pi
Page 51 and 52: Bobbio, Noberto (1989): “The Uptu
Page 53 and 54: Jacobsen, Michael H. (2003d): “Fr
Page 55 and 56: Tillich, Paul (1973): “Critique a
Page 57 and 58:
change” (Wright 2003:viii). So fa
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